customers. It’s the same threat I made to your uncle all those years ago.”
It would have been funny if it wasn’t so frustratingly stupid.
“I’m in the Witness Security Program. Johnny got a life sentence, but there are a dozen of his lieutenants who got shorter sentences or managed to stay out of jail altogether, and they’re pretty eager to hurt my uncle any way they can.”
The color drained from Conrad’s face.
“The man you saw me with this morning? He’s my WITSEC contact. He found out about Madison’s kidnapping, that I was the original target, and he wants to move me out of Portland. That’s what we were arguing about.”
Conrad came around the desk and leaned against it just a few feet in front of me. “That’s what you meant, when you said you didn’t know what might happen in the future.”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head, a soft chuckle again slipping from between his lips. “I’m such a fucking idiot. I should have known there was more to it than what I knew. I just…I assumed you left New Orleans to escape your uncle. All this...” He waved his hand. “It never crossed my mind.”
“I’m sorry.”
He grunted, as he grabbed my arms and pulled me up into him. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, running his hand over my back. “None of this is your doing. You’re just an innocent bystander.”
I moved closer into his arms and buried my face in his chest. For a long second, I took pleasure in feeling his body wrapped around mine. I tried to imagine what it would be like to know that this would always be here, that I would always have the right to take comfort from his touch. To fall in love and trust that we would never be separated.
It was a dream meant for someone else.
“They want to put Memaw into a home and move me next week.”
“Next week?”
“It’s usually a lot sooner than that. I think the only reason they’re waiting is because of Memaw.”
“And then what?”
“And then I start over again, for the fourth time. This’ll be the first time I’ll be on my own. I won’t be able to take anything personal with me. I won’t be able to call you or any of the other friends I’ve made. And I won’t be able to see any of you again. Including Memaw.”
That thought—saying it out loud—took the steel out of my knees. I slipped forward, and Conrad caught me. He lifted me into his arms and carried me to the small couch against the back wall of his office. But he didn’t just lay me down. He sat and pulled me into his arms, cradling me like a child. And I fell apart like a child.
“I don’t want this,” I whispered when I had some control. “I don’t want to run for the rest of my life.”
“What happens if you elect to leave the WITSEC program?”
“They stop protecting me.” I rubbed my cheek a little roughly. “They leave me to my own devices. Chances are good Johnny’s people will find me fairly quickly after that.”
“They would just dump you?”
“They would take away everything they’ve been doing to keep me hidden. No more monitoring the local press, no more keeping tabs with the local police. No more paying for my rent, no more dealing with the landlord so he won’t get curious about my grandmother and me. No more meetings with Richard to make sure nothing unusual has been happening in the neighborhood.” I snuggled closer against him. “I don’t know what else. I’m sure they do things that I don’t even know about.”
“But you would keep your name.”
“I guess. I don’t know.”
Conrad kissed the top of my head. “Well,” he said quietly, “we have a week to spend together and to figure out what’s next.”
“We know what’s next. I have to leave.”
“Maybe.”
I sat up to look him in the eye, hope planting a seed deep in my heart. But before I could form the words to ask him what he was thinking, the door to his office burst open.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Goldstein,” his secretary said as two
It would have been funny if it wasn’t so frustratingly stupid.
“I’m in the Witness Security Program. Johnny got a life sentence, but there are a dozen of his lieutenants who got shorter sentences or managed to stay out of jail altogether, and they’re pretty eager to hurt my uncle any way they can.”
The color drained from Conrad’s face.
“The man you saw me with this morning? He’s my WITSEC contact. He found out about Madison’s kidnapping, that I was the original target, and he wants to move me out of Portland. That’s what we were arguing about.”
Conrad came around the desk and leaned against it just a few feet in front of me. “That’s what you meant, when you said you didn’t know what might happen in the future.”
“Yeah.”
He shook his head, a soft chuckle again slipping from between his lips. “I’m such a fucking idiot. I should have known there was more to it than what I knew. I just…I assumed you left New Orleans to escape your uncle. All this...” He waved his hand. “It never crossed my mind.”
“I’m sorry.”
He grunted, as he grabbed my arms and pulled me up into him. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, running his hand over my back. “None of this is your doing. You’re just an innocent bystander.”
I moved closer into his arms and buried my face in his chest. For a long second, I took pleasure in feeling his body wrapped around mine. I tried to imagine what it would be like to know that this would always be here, that I would always have the right to take comfort from his touch. To fall in love and trust that we would never be separated.
It was a dream meant for someone else.
“They want to put Memaw into a home and move me next week.”
“Next week?”
“It’s usually a lot sooner than that. I think the only reason they’re waiting is because of Memaw.”
“And then what?”
“And then I start over again, for the fourth time. This’ll be the first time I’ll be on my own. I won’t be able to take anything personal with me. I won’t be able to call you or any of the other friends I’ve made. And I won’t be able to see any of you again. Including Memaw.”
That thought—saying it out loud—took the steel out of my knees. I slipped forward, and Conrad caught me. He lifted me into his arms and carried me to the small couch against the back wall of his office. But he didn’t just lay me down. He sat and pulled me into his arms, cradling me like a child. And I fell apart like a child.
“I don’t want this,” I whispered when I had some control. “I don’t want to run for the rest of my life.”
“What happens if you elect to leave the WITSEC program?”
“They stop protecting me.” I rubbed my cheek a little roughly. “They leave me to my own devices. Chances are good Johnny’s people will find me fairly quickly after that.”
“They would just dump you?”
“They would take away everything they’ve been doing to keep me hidden. No more monitoring the local press, no more keeping tabs with the local police. No more paying for my rent, no more dealing with the landlord so he won’t get curious about my grandmother and me. No more meetings with Richard to make sure nothing unusual has been happening in the neighborhood.” I snuggled closer against him. “I don’t know what else. I’m sure they do things that I don’t even know about.”
“But you would keep your name.”
“I guess. I don’t know.”
Conrad kissed the top of my head. “Well,” he said quietly, “we have a week to spend together and to figure out what’s next.”
“We know what’s next. I have to leave.”
“Maybe.”
I sat up to look him in the eye, hope planting a seed deep in my heart. But before I could form the words to ask him what he was thinking, the door to his office burst open.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Goldstein,” his secretary said as two
Similar Books
